Not holding a position, one does not plan its affairs

Even as Miejue's personal disciple, Zhou Zhiruo had joined the Emei Sect too recently. She had never even gone down the mountain with Miejue before, so how could she know what Miejue did when she was outside?

But since Gu Shaoan asked, Zhou Zhiruo's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she thought seriously:

"It should be... very difficult."

"There are over a thousand disciples in the Emei Sect. My senior sister said that fourteen years ago, it happened to coincide with a demonic figure from the martial world who challenged the Huashan, Kongtong, Shaolin, and other eight major sects, bringing one hundred and eight experts."

"At that time, the more than ten strongest elders from our Emei Sect went to the appointment, but not one of them returned."

"Upon hearing the news, my grandmaster, Fengling Shitai, was so enraged that she suffered a backlash. Before her passing, she passed the position of Sect Leader to my Master."

"But at that time, all the sect's experts had perished. Seeing Emei's weakened state, and with my Master having just taken over as Sect Leader, other surrounding powers began to harbor ambitions."

"Senior sister said that during those years, Master led a sect, maintained order within, and had to deal with other sects. Master was almost constantly on her feet."

"Just as she finished handling the internal affairs of Emei, big and small, she had to immediately rush around to suppress the surrounding forces that wanted to rebel and the Martial Artists causing trouble within Emei's sphere of influence."

Gu Shaoan nodded, his gaze also turning to the deep night sky, as if he could pierce the darkness and see the deeper struggles of sects and the heavy burden of a Sect Leader.

"It wasn't just difficult; it was like walking a tightrope over a ten-thousand-foot cliff."

Gu Shaoan's voice deepened slightly. "Fourth Senior Sister, look at our Emei. Founded for a hundred years, its sword light shines brightly, and it dominates the southwest. But have you ever thought about what it takes to maintain this foundation, to let over a thousand disciples practice martial arts with peace of mind, and to prevent Martial Artists in Emei's territory from causing chaos?"

Zhou Zhiruo thought for a moment and replied uncertainly, "Is it because Master and the others have high Martial Arts?"

Gu Shaoan shook his head. "That's only one aspect."

He paused, then continued, "For a sect, experts are the sharp blades that protect the sect's safety, but rules are the sinews that maintain the continuous operation of this vast system, the cornerstone that can be passed down through generations."

"Without rules, nothing can be round; without standards, nothing can be square. Once the rules are broken, people's hearts will scatter, and a thousand-mile embankment will collapse from an ant's nest."

He paused, his tone becoming more solemn. "What Senior Sister Ding did today is no longer just angering Master. She deliberately harmed a fellow disciple, and did so when Master had explicitly given orders, and with a great enemy at hand."

"The hidden weapons she sent towards us endanger not just our lives, but also the iron-cast sect rules of Emei over the past hundred years, and the fundamental principles that Master, as Sect Leader, must defend with her life."

Zhou Zhiruo's small mouth parted slightly, and her body unconsciously sat up straighter. Gu Shaoan's words struck her heart like heavy hammers.

Gu Shaoan turned around and looked at Zhou Zhiruo with a solemn tone. "Fourth Senior Sister, imagine this. If today Master, out of consideration for Senior Sister Ding's twenty years of sect affiliation and the merits of her cultivation, or perhaps considering some of the contributions she has made."

"And were to indulge and tolerate such a grave crime of openly betraying a fellow disciple and disregarding the Master's orders, treating it as a minor issue, merely imprisoning her or expelling her from the sect, what would be the consequences?"

He didn't need Zhou Zhiruo to answer immediately and continued to analyze, "First, unfair enforcement of laws. Unclear statutes and decrees."

"Once statutes and decrees have exceptions, their binding power vanishes. Master's authority as Sect Leader will be greatly diminished..."

"If she can let off Ding Minjun today, who deliberately tried to harm a fellow disciple, how will she punish other disciples who make mistakes tomorrow?"

"What will other disciples think when they see this? They will feel that rules can be applied selectively. They will feel that twenty years of camaraderie and so-called contributions can offset betrayal."

"Secondly, internal discord among fellow disciples, suspicion arises. You, I, and all the sisters who witnessed today's events will forever have a thorn in our hearts: it turns out that harming a fellow disciple doesn't require paying a heavy price."

"It turns out that as long as there are sufficient 'reasons,' sufficient 'capital,' one can trample on the sect rules without bearing the most severe consequences."

"If this continues, where will the sisterhood be? Can we still entrust our backs to each other? Is Emei still a sect united from top to bottom? It's merely a place of contention, outwardly glorious but inwardly full of schemes."

Gu Shaoan's voice carried a hint of coldness as he painted that dreadful future scenario.

Zhou Zhiruo felt a chill in her heart just thinking about the scenes Gu Shaoan described.

"If one can harm a fellow disciple for personal gain today, tomorrow they can sell out the entire Emei for greater profit."

"If this spark is not extinguished immediately with thunderous means, it will spread like wildfire, and by then it will be too late to regret. The foundation built over a hundred years will completely collapse through generations of 'leniency beyond the law' and repeated erosion of ironclad rules."

"Master, as the Sect Leader, bears the responsibility for Emei. Does she dare to let Emei decline under her watch? If Senior Sister were the Sect Leader, knowing such risks, would she still dare to show mercy to Second Senior Sister?"

Zhou Zhiruo's face turned somewhat pale; she was beginning to grasp the gravity of the situation.

Seeing the expression on Zhou Zhiruo's face, Gu Shaoan's tone grew heavier.

"Therefore, Master's actions today are by no means simply a matter of 'willingness' or 'unwillingness'."

"She is fulfilling an undeniable responsibility as the Sect Leader, eradicating a tumor that could destroy the sect, regardless of who that tumor is."

Miejue was not an unfeeling person.

At least before matters concerning the Ming Cult, Miejue's moral bottom line was quite high.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have known Ding Minjun's character and still allowed her to act arrogantly within the Emei Sect.

Gu Shaoan could clearly feel Miejue's pain in personally striking down a disciple she had cultivated for over twenty years and lived with day and night.

But in Miejue's heart, even she herself was far less important than the Emei Sect's century-old foundation.

Let alone a single disciple?

Miejue's strike that killed Ding Minjun, while seemingly ruthless, was in fact her exercising the highest duty of a Sect Leader, upholding sect rules to establish the sect, and clearing internal threats to strengthen itself.

The position of Sect Leader has never been for a sentimental person to occupy. Those who sit in that position sometimes require the sharpest decisions and the sternest demeanor.

Those who only value personal feelings are merely chieftains in the martial world's feuds and romances.

If it's difficult for one person to navigate the martial world, how much harder is it for a Sect Leader leading a group of people?

Founding a sect is certainly respected and relied upon, but only the leader knows the hardships endured behind the scenes.

Didn't you see that even a master like Zhang Sanfeng has been unable to descend the mountain freely these years due to being burdened by Wudang?

Finally, Gu Shaoan's tone became more solemn.

"To govern while in office, Master, as the Sect Leader of the Emei Sect, is destined to set an example for Emei. Many things are both beyond her control and things she must do."